Rating: 
Summary: A Shame.
Review: I don't have a lot of time to waste on this book, so I will make this short. There is nothing new here. There are no new characters, themes, or situations. This is simply a mule we've ridden before, but this time it is dressed up in horse harness. If you are a die-hard Eddings fan, this book MAY be worth the money. I am (or was) a die-hard Eddings fan, and I don't think this book was worth the money. If you simply have to have this book, wait until it is released in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid At All Costs
Review: I have to say this is the worst book I've read in 2000, and I can't believe I am saying this about David Eddings, whose work I've loved for many years. Sadly put this is a tired rehashing of characters, mannerisms, dialogue and plot that was fresh 20 years ago in the Belgariad and just sounds tired here. I confess I didn't even make it through the whole book because I thought I'd scream if I read one more "Em", "Emmy" "Althie" and "Yes, dear" Beside the treacly dialogue between the main characters, there were glaring inconsistancies. Althalus was described as a drunkerd (ala Belgarath) yet later in the book, he is shown as drinking in taverns only for information and pouring his drinks on the floor. The heros were never in any peril despite having scary opponents whom seemed curiously impotent. You knew Althalus and the others would win through, so why care? The perfect matching up of men and women was sickening, and if Andine wasn't a dead ringer for Ce'Nedra with her screeching fishwife voice and impassioned speeches (hello, speech to rally the troops in Castle of Wizardry?) I don't know who was. Did I mention the generic fantasy land this is set in? You never get a sense of place like you did in his other works, even inferior ones like the Elenium. A terrible disappointment. I don't recommend this book to long time fans because it will leave a bitter taste in your mouth and taint any fond memories you may have of his ability to write and create exciting fantasy epics. I certainly don't recommend it to new readers since it will likely scare you away from Eddings for good and that would be a shame. The greatest gift Eddings could have given fans is his complete silence if this was all he had to say.
Rating: 
Summary: a review
Review: I have to say that the way it started out reminded me of the way Eddings writes when he's taking the point of view of a minor character who appears in the story for about three pages and then disappears forever; i.e. similar to the style with which he writes about a murderer or plague-bearing sailor who does his thing and then leaves. But it gets better as it goes on. What David Eddings is really good at is providing the reader with amusing banter and a sense of the humanity of his characters - and of course he does this in this book too. I'm very fond of his earlier work - my favorite characters were the two thieves from the two series: Silk and Stragen, both dashing, urbane, charming, and dangerous. Rather like Althalus, in fact. It's a bit disturbing to have a character I'm used to seeing on the sidelines be front-and-center; Eddings has picked, in both Sparhawk and especially in Garion, rather self-deprecating, ironic, quiet, well-behaved characters - the types who love home and family and who don't really want to rule the world, etc, etc, and the reader sees the more dashing and on-the-edge characters only through their eyes. I think Althalus is a bit of a change, but I get the feeling that he becomes more like Garion and Sparhawk as the book goes on (I haven't finished it yet). ANyway, anything by Eddings is a good read, so y'all should read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems in Redemption of Althalus
Review: Other reviews have pointed out problems in the predictable plot and wooden characters in this book, so I'll focus on a different problem exacerbated in this book by its length. There is a constant repetition of stock words and phrases throughout the book (and indeed in all their books) that grows quite annoying. Somtimes it appears that each character takes a turn in repeating stock phrases from a list - for example, when an older male character expresses deference to a younger female, odds are the female will say something like "I just love this man, don't you?". Cute the first time, tiresome the seventh time. The first third of the book is interesting and well-paced - the rest is a drag.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes! Yes!!
Review: It is always a pleasure to encounter an Eddings book, and this one is no exception. After a slightly stilted start, the book picks up both in action and in the usual Eddings crazy quilt of characters that never quite take themselves seriously. In this time of perpetually noir fiction it is a delight to read a book where the good guys win and the world is a better place for the effort.This group of characters is a little brighter and sneakier than previous efforts. And there are definitely some characteristics borrowed from other Eddings' efforts, but there is more than enough novelty to make this a worthwile read. My only regret is that it was written as a standalone novel. Eddings is one of the few authors who really do need volumes to fully develop characters, worlds, and action. They paint with a very fine brush, so this mere 700 page effort sometimes feels sketchy and jerks around a bit. But it is still a real pleasure to experience - READ IT.
Rating:
Summary: A painful read, at best
Review: Somehow, I managed to finish this book. I read a lot at work out of boredom. However, I would almost have preferred sitting on my behind, twiddling my thumbs, staring off into space with drool running down my chin rather than read this book. I'm not a picky person, either. Just about anything will satisfy me. But this story just dragged on and on and on and on... the endless dialogue nearly drove me insane. I've never read a book where so many people just talked and talked. I'd say 95% of the book was dialogue, with the other 5% describing how the dialogue was spoken. The only reason this book got ONE star was because this book COULD have been interesting. I liked the idea behind the story... but the manner in which it was carried out -- not so much. Needless to say, I won't be buying another book by these authors.
Rating:
Summary: Coy
Review: After only 12 chapters, I find this book so coy it makes my teeth ache. From the beginning of the book, I felt like the author was trying to rush things so that we could get down to the story. The lack of details, like how hard it is to travel, saddling horses, weather, comments on social customs of the natives, etc. just add to this hurry. I think I'm going to add the authors to my not buy list along with Piers Anthony.
Rating:
Summary: More of the same
Review: Eddings repeats more of the same kind of plot he used in his other series. As a fan who had collected all his works, I should say that this book is nothing new and nothing interesting.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Has Redeeming Qualities
Review: David Eddings is the author of two very good fantasy series. The Belgariad and The Mallorean are two parts of one continuing story about a peasant boy who becomes a prince and who, as an adult, saves the world-with help from an ageless wizard and his also ageless daughter. The Elenium and The Tamuli, also a two-story set, are about a knight in black armor who first saves and marries the princess and then with the princess saves the world. The background to the Belariad and Mallorean stories was so complex, although the stories still had good flow, that Eddings supplied the full background, from two points of view, in Belgrath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. About the time of these latter books, it was announced that Mrs. Eddings - Leigh - was a full co-author and not just a helpmate providing significant support. The latest Eddings work is listed under both names, and both can be proud. The Redemption of Althalus starts out very slowly. The hero - using that term loosely - is Althalus, who is an unmitigated thief and murderer. He is a pleasant enough fellow if you don't have anything he wants, and is a joyful drinking companion and storyteller; but still, he is not a character to like. After a run of bad luck, Althalus takes a commission to journey to the ends of the earth and steal a book. He arrives at this destination to be greeted by a talking cat who enthralls him and begins his conversion. It seems that the Creator God, who loves order, has an evil twin who loves chaos. The bad God has sent his minion to hire Althalus to steal the Creator God's book. If the bad guys possess the good guy's book, then they can reverse creation and chaos will reign. However, there is a sister-goddess who represents love and life, and she recruits Althalus to help her defeat her evil brother. As they travel about and recruit other desciples, and then take on the evil ones desciples, Althalus changes, but still remains the ever-irreverent scamp. Readers of the Belgariad and Mallorean stories will recall with pleasure the conversations between Polgara as "Aunt Pol" and Silk, the coniving confidence man and gambler who is really a prince but who doesn't like the responsibility of royalty. This byplay was a minor chord in those stories, but did add flavor to the main story. The Redemption of Althalus takes that byplay into a major theme where the characters can develop a relationship. The Eddings do this very well, and a book which was slow to start because the character is unlikeable becomes an exciting story where the character becomes someone to cheer for. The Eddings certainly redeemed Althalus for me. Maybe they will for you as well.
Rating: 
Summary: A link
Review: This book provides the Eddings with a mechanism to link Garion with Sparhawk and that's about all. A House that can link anywhere to anywhere, anywhen. This book has some original stuff, but it's nearly lost amidst all the repetition. However, after 18 books a lot of plot devices, characterisations and outcomes are going to be familiar.
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